The laminin proteins form one of the major networks within basement membranes and are required during development. Five laminin α, three laminin β and three laminin γ subunits are known in vertebrates and over 12 heterotrimeric laminin isoforms are thought to be assembled (Burgeson et al., 1994; Iivanainen et al., 1995; Miner et al., 1995). In vertebrates and invertebrates, laminin isoforms are...

Mutations in LAMA2 cause severe congenital muscular dystrophy accompanied by nervous system defects [1]. Mice homozygous for the dy2J allele of LAMA2 express a laminin α2 subunit that has a deletion in the aminoterminal domain VI, providing an animal model for study of the molecular basis of congenital muscular dystrophy [2,3]. Domain VI is predicted to be involved in laminin polymerization, al...

Kidney glomerular basement membranes (GBMs) undergo laminin and type IV collagen isoform substitutions during glomerular development, which are believed to be required for maturation of the filtration barrier. Specifically, GBMs of earliest glomeruli contain laminin α1β1γ1 and collagen α1α2α1(IV), whereas mature glomeruli contain laminin α5β2γ1 and collagen α3α4α5(IV). Here, we used confocal mi...

Laminin-5 is an essential component of epithelial basal membranes. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) changes laminin-5 from static to migratory substrate by cleaving the short arm of the gamma2 subunit of the laminin-5. Recently, the expression of laminin-5 gamma2 chain has been reported to be a marker of invasiveness of epithelial malignant tumors. We investigated the expression of laminin-5 ...

In epidermal wounds, precursor laminin 5 (alpha3beta3gamma2) is deposited in the provisional basement membrane (PBM) before other BM components. Precursor laminin 5 contains G4/5 globular domains at the carboxyl terminus of the alpha3 chain. Here, the function of G4/5 was evaluated in deposition of laminin 5. Soluble laminin 5, secreted by keratinocytes in culture, is cleaved by an endogenous p...

Two subfragments of laminin, E8, a major part of the long arm, and E1-4, the three short arms, promote cell adhesion and spreading. Three distinct types of adhesive behavior are seen in short term (1 h) assays, typified by secondary murine fibroblasts, adherent only on fibronectin; secondary murine myoblasts, adherent on fibronectin, laminin, and the E8 fragment; and Rugli human glioblastoma ce...

In order to provide evidence for an association of cell surface laminin with the cytoskeleton, we have examined the detergent extractability of cell surface laminin on murine fibrosarcoma cells. We utilized indirect immunofluorescence with affinity-purified anti-laminin antibodies to determine the distribution, mobility and detergent extractability of laminin bound to the cell surface. We demon...

The distribution of the basement membrane glycoprotein laminin was studied by the immunoperoxidase technique in benign and malignant human breast tissue and in axillary lymph nodes from patients with breast cancer. An antiserum prepared against rat laminin was used. The specificity of this antiserum against human laminin was studied using the FL cell line of human epithelial-like cells derived ...

Astrocytes express laminin and assemble basement membranes (BMs) at their endfeet, which ensheath the cerebrovasculature. The function of astrocytic laminin in cerebrovascular integrity is unknown. We show that ablation of astrocytic laminin by tissue-specific Cre-mediated recombination disrupted endfeet BMs and led to hemorrhage in deep brain regions of adult mice, resembling human hypertensiv...

The pathogenesis of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy associated with Chagas disease is still controversial, although evidence indicates a T cell-dependent autoimmune process. Using a mouse model for chronic Chagas disease, we previously evidenced that hearts grafted within the ears of Trypanosoma cruzi infected syngeneic recipients were rejected through a CD4+ T cell-dependent mechanism. Moreove...